


Fallen Angel

by Casimir



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Anal Sex, Bad End AU, M/M, Persona fucking, Selfcest, Tentacle Sex, technically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:48:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26555365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casimir/pseuds/Casimir
Summary: "Welcome to my Master's Palace." Said the yellow eyed Ren.Something was changing, deep inside Mementos. Something was changing deep inside Ren, too.
Relationships: Maruki Takuto/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 9
Kudos: 66





	Fallen Angel

The new Palace that Kasumi had fallen into concerned Ren, a little. Morgana had played it off like it didn’t matter but every Palace they’d been to so far had been because of a rotten piece of shit human. There was no way this one was going to be any different. And besides, if he got the drop on investigating it and they had to return later then he could save them a lot of time. Which is why Ren was standing outside said Palace, watching the way the walls of the building warped and shifted in the light of the Metaverse, without Morgana.

Perhaps it was a little stupid to investigate without at least one of the other Phantom Thieves; but, when he stepped through the main doors to the sterile looking building, his clothes changed. Joker’s regalia melted away as if mocking the idea that the Palace ruler had ever thought of him as a threat. That was fine, he could make himself a threat if he had to.

One of the Shadows milling about by the front desk spotted him then and waved him over. It wasn’t very often that he had a pleasant interaction with a Shadow, so Ren braced himself for a confrontation.

“Welcome!” Said the Shadow, ignoring the way Ren’s eyes narrowed. “Unfortunately our Master is away for the moment, but he did think that you may drop by. I have been informed to bring you into the waiting room.”

Ren wasn’t sure if it was possible for a Palace ruler to actually leave the place, but it was all cognition anyway. Maybe they ‘left’ when they slept or something. He was directed through a pair of doors and into a comfortable looking room. The couches seemed soft and inviting and there was a bowl of vaguely nutritious looking snacks on the table. He sat cautiously, at the edge of one of the couches. Something pinged Ren’s memory at the sight but whatever it was fled when the door on the other side of the room opened.

Another Shadow stepped through, carrying a couple of glasses of water. All of the Shadows he'd seen staffing the Palace were carefully gender neutral and this one was no different. They carried themselves gracefully, with broad shoulders and gently curving waists. None of the staff had defined facial features but the patients outside were whole people. Ren wondered what it meant about the ruler as the Shadow set a glass down for him.

"We must apologize again for our Master's absence. In his stead I have been asked to answer your questions, however there are some that I cannot answer. Please understand."

The ruler was male. Ren filed that away for later.

"What is the distortion to this place?" He asked, taking the glass from the Shadow. "What is it your Master wants?"

"Our Master simply wishes for everyone's happiness." The Shadow perched on a couch opposite from Ren.

"Who is he?"

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that, Amamiya-kun."

Ren narrowed his eyes at the Shadow again. "He knows me, though."

That would make things difficult. A man, someone who knew Ren. He had to find more clues to the ruler's identity. If only he had Akechi's silver tongue.

"Of course he does. You're very precious to him, after all." The way the Shadow's head tilts makes it look like it might be smiling if it had a face.

"If he desires for everyone's...happiness. Then he doesn't consider himself dangerous?"

"No, though he does admit that anyone has the potential to  _ be  _ dangerous."

Interesting. For someone with such warped desires, the Palace ruler had a strangely honest view of the world. Ren finished his drink. Cognitive food and drink didn't have much of an effect in a Palace but it was refreshing. He was running out of questions, except for one.

"Is there a cognitive version of me?"

"Of course! As I said, you're very important to our Master."

A shudder passed through Ren's body. He'd met cognitive versions of his friends before, but never himself. "Can I meet him?"

The Shadow deliberated for a moment. "Well, I was not explicitly told that you can't. I suppose you may but after that I insist that you get on your way. You have school tomorrow after all!"

Someone who knew Ren  _ very well. _

Ren couldn't help but be afraid, deep in the back of his mind. He could feel the anxiety bubbling in the distance. Hopefully this would give him another clue. The identity of the ruler was on the tip of his tongue, he just knew it. It was escaping him but just barely. By inches.

The cognitive version of Ren was dressed in Shujin's high collared turtleneck, black pants, and a sweeping white lab coat. It was like an inverse of Joker's black one with the split seams down the back. He smiled warmly at his real self and even bowed.

"Welcome to my Master's Palace." Said the yellow eyed Ren.

"I have to say I'm a little surprised. You're surprisingly un-changed."

The other him tugged on his fringe, a familiar movement that unbalanced Ren inside. It was like looking into a fun house mirror. "Yes. My Master spent a while making sure we would be perfect." He seemed almost embarrassed to talk about it. Ren wondered if there was a  _ process  _ to making a cognitive version of someone, or if he was just being metaphorical.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" The other Ren asked.

"How does he see me? Us. I mean." Ren forced out, the words tumbling from his mouth before he could stop them.

"We're his assistant, of course! His right hand man. His most trusted." The other him held his hands over his chest, where his heart would be if he was human. There was a sickening fondness in his eyes that made Ren squirm in his seat.

He didn't want to stay here much longer.

Shortly after the Shadows shuffled him out of the Palace, telling him to rest well and try hard in school and generally sounding like doting parents. Ren shivered again. It was dark when he turned off the navigation on the Metaverse app. The trains would be stopping soon, judging by the time. He had to make the trip at a run to manage it.

***

Mementos felt strange, the next time he went there with everyone. No one else mentioned it, however, so Ren kept the creeping feeling to himself. It was like something was spreading. Jose kept giving him weird looks. 

_ It was nothing.  _ Ren thought.  _ Nothing. _

***

Sae's Palace was like a blur of light and sound and colour. He knew that at the end of it he'd be sitting behind an interrogation table-- probably after having been beaten black and blue by the police-- and potentially dead, but.

_ But. _

He couldn't really bring himself to care. There was something bigger than all of this at play, bigger than all of them and Akechi's stupid machinations--

_ Where did that thought come from? _

Ren shook his head. They had a job to do. It wouldn't pay to be getting so distracted.

***

Ren took the prepackaged cookie from Maruki gladly. Lately he'd really been looking forward to his sessions with his therapist. Sometimes they spent hours talking about Maruki's research; sometimes their conversations were cut short discussing Ren's own trauma. That was okay though, even the hollowed out feeling of having his brain scooped and examined was okay.

_ So long as he was still with Maruki. _

Ren shook his head to clear off his thoughts.

Yeah, okay okay. So he thought his therapist was kind of hot. He was allowed to have those kinds of thoughts if he never said anything about them. It didn't matter if his cheeks burnt and the tips of his ears turned red when Maruki patted him on the knee that one time. Ren could feel himself blushing again at the thought of it.

***

Ren had to return to the Palace. He knew Morgana would disapprove of his nighttime adventures, so he left the cat with Ann. She could keep him busy with just her presence. All she'd have to do would be to bat her eyes and he'd be tripping over himself to get her whatever she wanted. It was kind of cute.

"Our Master is not here today, I'm afraid, Amamiya-kun." Said the receptionist Shadow again.

"That's okay." Ren tugged on his fringe, hiding his face away as he did so. "I just wanted to come back."

He was shown to the same waiting room again. It hadn't changed, but the bowl of candy had been refreshed. When the other Ren stepped into the room he'd already eaten half of it. It made the cognitive version laugh to see it. His voice was strangely musical. Was this really how the Palace ruler saw him?

"Would you like to see something interesting this time?" He asked.

"Yes." Ren replied. He should really try and map out the Palace. Try to find the deepest area, since that was where Treasures were usually kept. He should...do something that wasn't following a different version of himself into an elevator.

It travelled for a long time. Cognition and Thief travelling quietly as they assessed each other. How they stood, how they breathed. Fun house mirrors. When the elevator slowed down to a gentle halt, the cognitive Ren let him go first.

The room was covered, floor to ceiling, in a writhing mass of blue and grey tentacles. There were grasping hands on some and pointed tips on others. And they never stopped moving. Even when the elevator doors closed behind them. A frisson of fear ran down Ren's spine but it was quickly smothered by the other's hands wrapping around his waist. A warm body pressed up behind him.

"His name is Azathoth." Whispered the other Ren.

He knew this feeling. He knew the strength that came from the tentacles, as if it was his own. There was a feeling of comradery with them. Warmth. Rebellion.

"He's a Persona."

"You're right, of course. You're always right. Would you like to meet him?"

"But...how?"

"It doesn't matter."

Ren felt himself being moved forwards. His feet stumbling over each other as the cognitive version of himself moved them both. One step at a time. Further into the room full of tentacles.

"It's alright." He could hear, whispered delicately into his ear. "You're safe here."

The tentacles stretched to meet him. They looked...frustratingly inviting. One of the grasping hands reached out and caressed the side of Ren’s face, trailing the tips of it’s blue claws almost lovingly down his skin. When Ren stepped forwards, this time it was without the other him’s urging. He moved into the center mass of tentacles that gently surged upwards to meet him. Some wrapped around his wrists, some wrapped around his ankles, and others still put their grasping hands around his waist.

Slowly, he was lifted upwards. They held his weight without any strain. Ren felt like his mind was in a daze, with the tentacles now beginning to remove his clothes— they even folded them neatly and set them aside. Each brush of it’s claws sent his head spinning. Pleasure surged up his spine, settling deep within him like the eerie feeling of safety coming from the tentacle nest. One moved up his neck, winding not tightly enough to choke him but like a collar, until it reached his face. The tip of the tentacle swiped against his lower lip like a kiss.

Ren found his mouth opening before the tentacle could pull away. He wanted it, he realized. He wanted the tentacle to push inside his mouth and...violate him.

_ No.  _ Ren thought.  _ It wouldn’t be a violation. _

The slick tentacle pressed inside, gently rubbing against his tongue before pushing even deeper. It even flattened out slightly as it reached his throat. Ren realized quickly that his gag reflex didn’t trigger, even with the tentacle pushing further and further inside. He moaned openly, unabashed, and arched into the next surge of tentacles that touched his body. They tightened around his wrists and ankles and pulled his legs open like some wanton whore.

Ren was stuffed full before he had a chance to think about it. The tentacles were slippery and malleable, which made their unstoppable press into his body easy. There were two, then three, inside his ass; they stretched him open more and plunged deeper than he'd even thought possible. When they struck inside him in just the right way, his whole body went tense. He arched up and trembled— gasping, whining, pleading for his release around the one in his mouth. One of the hand-like tentacles reached out and stroked his aching dick loosely. Like it didn't really want it to be over. But Ren was close already, so close, and strung as tight as piano wire. All it took was a few pumps before he was spilling all over it's fingers with a hoarse cry.

The other him locked it's clawed fingers clean. The sight sent a thrill through his body. It pushed the cognitive Ren's tongue down as he held his mouth open for inspection. He really had swallowed it all.

Later that night Morgana didn't even stir when Ren slid back into bed. His body was satiated, loose and relaxed in a way it hadn't been for a long time. He felt like he could win anything.

***

For a while he had to put thoughts of the Palace and school out of his head. Shido. Akechi.  _ Yaldabaoth. _

Everything seemed to happen so quickly.

Like his life was on a rollercoaster, careening downhill, and there was no way for him to stop it alone. It was a good thing he had his friends. Each one of them had fought so hard for so long. Ren would give his life to see them safe and happy, that much would always be true.

When his final shot rang out and the snow began to fall, Ren couldn't help but think they were missing a person.

***

He stepped inside the Palace doors, Akechi and Kasumi close behind him, and god did he hope none of the Shadows on staff today recognized him. (That wouldn't happen. They always recognized him.) Neither of the others had changed into their Metaverse gear, so they didn't question why Ren wasn't in his. (Small mercies. He didn't know what he'd do if they found the cognitive version of him. The last time he'd been here he'd wound up on his lap with their tongues in each other's throats.) There was a crescendo building in his mind. An awful hymn of fear battling with an otherworldly sense of  _ home. _

"Welcome to our Master's Palace." Said the Shadow on desk duty. "You will be pleased to know that he is in today, and will meet you in the amphitheatre."

Ren blinked. This had never happened before. Akechi was laughing about how easy their plan was going to go, with Kasumi nodding along with him. Neither of these things made Ren feel any better about what was going on. They'd destroyed Mementos, what was  _ His Palace  _ doing still standing? (With a jolt, he realized that at some point he'd started to consider the place 'his'. Like he belonged there.)

The Shadows took them the most direct route. Whoever was the ruler here wanted to see them immediately. Ren squashed the excitement bubbling inside him. 

_ No, no. Do not look forward to this. _

He couldn't help it. The closer they got to their destination, the more he felt it. When they stepped into the amphitheatre, surrounded by rows and rows of seated cognitive people, Ren thought his heart would beat out of his chest.

"You've got to be kidding me." Akechi snarled.

"Doctor Maruki?!" Came Kasumi's startled cry.

For some reason, Ren wasn't surprised. The Palace suited him. All clean white walls and happy, smiling people. Especially the cognitive Ren that was standing behind him. His pen was paused on his clipboard and he gave Ren a coy smile and a small wave. Akechi didn't even blink at the other. He'd seen too many cognitions by now to consider that Ren as anything other than a roadblock. But, no matter how hard he shouted and barked, their clothes didn't change.

No Persona, either.

"It seems the second part of my experiment worked." Maruki said, stepping down out of his raised throne and down the stairs. The other Ren followed. "You won't be able to fight me if I don't see you as a threat. And I never will. How could I, when one of you is my faithful assistant and the others are my patients?"

Immediately, Akechi spun on his heel to face Kasumi. "You! You've been helping him?!"

"No, it wasn't me!"

"It...it was me." Ren muttered. He felt like he could be knocked over by a feather. His head spun and spun. The other him stepped forward at the same time he did.  _ Fun house mirrors. _ He thought.  _ But which one of us is the fake? _

"Yes." Maruki trailed his hand over Ren's cheek. It was familiar, comforting.

"Azathoth?" He said aloud, though Ren hadn't meant to.

"Yes. He's mine. I see everything he does, Ren."

_ Oh. _

Akechi snarled something again but there was a strangled noise immediately after. It was hard to hear through the buzzing in his mind. When Ren glanced around, both of his friends were on their knees and Azathoth's tentacles had covered their mouths.

"Don't hurt them." He pleaded, or the other Ren did— or was it their words slipping out at the same time? Ren wasn’t sure if he knew the difference anymore. Every time he blinked he was looking in a different direction. Was he facing Maruki or was he facing himself and the bound forms of his friends? Ren clutched the sides of his head. He felt like he was splitting in half.

“I won’t hurt them.” Maruki took his hands in his and gently pulled them away. “They are your friends after all.”

Once the shaking in them had stopped, the older man pressed a kiss to his knuckles and beckoned over the cognitive Ren. He seemed far more composed than Ren himself felt. There was a gentle smile on his face. So much trust in his eyes that it made him sick to look at. Ren  _ wanted  _ that.

Desperately.

“I know, Ren. I know. That’s why I’ve been working on another experiment. This one was very important to me.” Maruki reached out and took the other Ren’s hand, then brought them together. “Since I’m fusing reality and cognition together, don’t you think it’s fitting that I fuse you with your cognitive self?”

There was a noise of protest from Akechi and Kasumi, angry and terrified at the same time, but Ren could barely hear them. The chanting in the back of his mind had reached a crescendo. His vision went blurry at the edges. There was a brilliant white light spreading across the room that seemed to have no source— Akechi and Kasumi didn’t even flinch, so maybe it was just him— and his body felt impossible light. As if he could float away on the feeling of joy permeating through him.

“Embrace it, Ren. This is what you deserve for fighting against so much strife.” Maruki reached out and kissed him, softly.

***

It was a quiet Saturday night. Just enough of a crowd that a wandering stranger wouldn’t feel lonely. Kichijoji, as always, was the best place to catch up with your friends. Ren waved Futaba and her mother goodbye. The woman’s arms were laden with shopping bags that her rambunctious daughter had plied her with. There’d been a Featherman anniversary release and nothing had stopped Futaba from being the first in line. 

When he saw Goro jogging to meet up with him, he held out his own bag. (Ren had been second.)

“I almost can’t believe you managed to get it.” Goro said, with a roll of his eyes. He snatched the bag away from Ren’s loose fingers. “But. With your boyfriend, you could probably show up in a month and they’d find one buried in the back of the storage closet.”

Ren grinned. “I went and got it by myself, though. Takuto didn’t have to be involved. I did have to get up at three in the morning so you’d better be happy.”

Despite his misgivings about their new reality, Goro didn’t seem to want to relinquish the bag he was coveting. “I never said I wasn’t.”

Not much had changed about Goro, as a whole. Ren had been given the freedom to help the Thieves as he pleased but most of them just needed...a little tweaking. Replace the anger with resignation; box up the monster and seal him away. It was still Goro in the end.

“Dinner, then darts?” Ren asked, hurrying ahead to their favourite restaurant.

“Sure. Maybe this time I’ll miss and hit  _ you _ for once.”

He would never miss.

***

Takuto’s hands ran reverently over Ren’s bare skin. Outside their shared bedroom, the Palace continued the hum of it’s daily life. Ren could feel it working even now. They were joined together, after all. The Palace was a part of him as much as Takuto was. Slowly, slowly, he let himself sink onto the throbbing cock below. His body accepted it easily. It always would. Ren loved the stretch and ache as he settled, but sometimes Takuto was impatient— something happening during the day that frustrated him into rough action.

“Ohh—“ Ren moaned under his breath. He always felt so big, bordering on too much, until he could hardly take it at all.

Azathoth’s blue tipped claws gripped Ren’s shoulders and Takuto’s own human hands bruised his hips. He felt like his heart might burst with the love that he could feel for the man below him. Whether it was the cognition’s feelings or his own didn’t matter anymore. They were the same.

They always would be.

Until the end of the world.

**Author's Note:**

> LOOK AT THESE IM FREAKING OUT  
> https://twitter.com/JustTuggi/status/1308118886332739587  
> https://twitter.com/Lyonfaced/status/1308254315841282048
> 
> Uhhh so one of my headcanons is that Ren is more quiet and reserved/xanatos speed chess type versus Akira being loud and boisterous and best at reacting in the moment.
> 
> ANYWAY there was meant to be more smut but then I was 3.5K words in and getting Pretty Done With This.


End file.
